WORCESTER — The regular season for the 2017-2018 Wachusett Regional High co-ed swim team concluded on Jan. 26 with victories over Northbridge High (95-60, boys and 95-73, girls ) at Worcester’s Jewish Community Center. The boys finished at 6-5 (4- 4, Mid Wach) while the girls team wrapped up at 5-6 (3-5 Mid Wach).

But while the schedule for full-team participation has elapsed, there is much more swimming ahead including League Championships that will take place at Holy Cross College on the morning of Super Bowl Sunday and Sectionals scheduled for Feb. 11 at Springfield College.

This year, the Mountaineers took to the pool with slightly diminished numbers but aside from some unpreventable setbacks, things went relatively well, according to head coach Jochen Welsch.

“ The season went by quickly and it was a bit chaotic at times because of the weather that caused a lot of rescheduling,” said Welsch. “Plus the flu was a problem this year that came in waves with different kids. Some kids at school are out for a week. It really hits you hard. But given the chaos and sporadic nature of things, I think we did pretty well. Overall, kids made a lot of progress.”

Highlights for the boys in the meet versus Northridge included winning times for Christian Paredes (200 Free and 100 Free), Gavin Woodin (200 IM and 500 Free) and Nick Spodick (50 Free). Girls events were won by Maeve Callahan (200 Free and 500 Free),

In Sectional competition, the girls have qualified for all three relays while Lemoine has qualified in the 100 Free, 100 Fly and 100 Back. Callahan has qualified in the 500 Freestyle. The boys qualified all three relays (200 Medley, 200 Free and 400 Free) while Paredes made the cut in the 200 Free, 200 IM, 50 Free, 100 Fly, 100 Freestyle and 500 Freestyle. Woodin did the same in the 200 Free and 200 IM.

Swimmers Maggie Gardner ( freshman), Gavin Woodin ( sophomore), Catherine Gardner (junior) and Ryan Scott (senior) all weighed in on the ups and downs of the regular season emphasizing team effort and mutual support throughout, especially for the benefit of the less-experienced teammates.

“I think we had a good season especially with the incoming freshmen who tend to be nervous,” said Catherine Gardner. “You have to really build them up with motivation. You want to be their role model and be there for them when they have questions. Cheering is especially important. The coaches also are always there for you. If someone’s having a problem or an issue, they should come to us because you have to fix it.”

“We definitely had a big improvement at the end of the season,” acknowledged younger sister Maggie Gardner. “We had a lot of new swimmers like myself. We’re all powerful swimmers and I think that added to the team.”

“Every year we meet new people coming on to the team. Some have more experience than others,” Scott added. “Either way, we all help each other out. We all cheer for each other and that helps motivate when you’re in the water. You may think that they don’t hear it but they do and it helps a lot.”

Welsch, who co-coaches the team along with Kathy Spodick, is quick to advance stories of success and rapid progress that occurred for some of the newer swimmers. He cites many on the squad but three stand out when looking back on the 2017-2018 campaign.

“Ethan Butler, a junior, never swam competitively before and the first couple of days where ‘is he going to make it?’” said Welsch. “At the end of the season he’s swimming the longest race we have (500 yards) and has been a trooper. He would swim anything I asked him to.”

Besides Butler, Welsch also recognized Woodin and Caitlin Henry who made post-season cuts with marked improvements in performance week to week.

“You have to work hard to get good at swimming and you have to focus on small details like technique and form,” Woodin explained. “There’s a huge importance on that in this sport.”